December 6, 2007 Awhanee Hotel, Yosemite National Park - ServiceQuality.CN President and Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. Jeffrey Kasper, denounced inflammatory media coverage of recent manufacturing issues by United States media outlets today in comments made after an address to key business and industry leaders. His remarks came after he had concluded his prepared remarks.
“The People’s Republic of China has thousands of exceptional firms who have been producing exceptional goods for decades. Millions of workers and managers work very hard to provide our country with the highest quality of goods. Recently, there has been a rash of reports about lead paint and other incidents identified that concern goods manufactured in the People’s Republic of China. While I don’t want to infer that I am minimizing the importance of these incidents, I believe that it is equally important to highlight the millions, perhaps billions, of items that are manufactured above US standards every day.” Dr. Kasper said.
He continued, “Without the exceptional quality of goods and products, innovative technologies from TV’s to iPods would be unaffordable for all but the richest individuals. Most recently, Apple Computer worked hand-in-hand with their employees and vendors in China to bring the iPhone to the world. This little miracle of technology that has already changed the lives of millions around would have never happened without China. We must recognize these accomplishments as well.
When a problem has been identified, in every instance that I’m aware of, the companies involved took immediate action to correct the deficiency. Unlike many US companies that try to hide deficiencies, or sweep them under the rug. If you ask me, some US industries could learn a lot about how to handle a problem by watching the leadership that has come out of the People’s Republic of China. We shouldn’t forget the responsibility of those who contract with manufacturing companies to verify that work is being carried out correctly. You wouldn’t hire an employee and then never check on their work.”
Dr. Kasper concluded, “We owe a debt of gratitude to the workers and factories in the People’s Republic of China. They have directly made our lives better for decades. We should offer to assist them in bringing Western service quality programs to help prevent future problems -- not bashing them at every opportunity.”
Notes: Dr. Kasper is a shareholder of Apple Computer, but is not affiliated with the company in any other capacity. ServiceQuality.CN is a registered trade/service mark of Customer Loyalty Builders, Inc. All other trade / service marks are the property of their respective owners.
